WSDOT: 520 Bridge Toll Still Slated for December Start

The State Route 520 Bridge still is slated to start electronic tolling later this month, a Washington State Department of Transportation official told Bellevue Patch last week and an announcement was expected soon.

State Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond told the Bellevue Downtown Association Thursday morning that the date probaby would be announced early next week.

Spokeswoman Janet Matkin said there would be plenty of warning before the tolls are instated, but that the state and the vendor handling the tolling still are in the testing stages of the all-electronic payment system.

Testing issues with the tolling system have delayed the tolls, . It was pushed to , and then to , and then most recently to .

Instead of toll booths, the tolls will be paid through , which is a system that uses electronic transponders attached to vehicles to debit motorists' accounts. Vehicles that don't have the transponders will have photos taken of their license plate, adn then will be billed through the mail, Matkin said.

The toll schedule includes a $3.50-peak hour toll in both ways, but the toll will varies depending on the hour, so it will be less than that at non-peak hour times. Motorists without a Good to Go account will pay a $1.50 fee every time they cross the bridge, according to the state.

While city of Bellevue officials have spoken with the state to delay the toll until after the Christmas shopping season, Matkin said that the state still plans for a December start.

The toll is expected to rise 10 cents a year between 2012 and 2016, so drivers would be paying a peak hour toll of $3.90 by 2016.

Matkin said that motorists should obtain the Good to Go Pass before the tolls start.

Commuters will be able to purchase the transponders at any , , and , and at a customer service center in Bellevue at 13107 NE 20th Street, Suites 3 & 4, Bellevue. Customers also can establish an account online at mygoodtogo.com

"We encourage people to do that now, because there will be a rush when the date is announced," she said.

The tolls will pay part of a $4.65 billion plan to improve SR 520.

The project will:

• Widen SR 520 and create carpool lanes in both directions.
• Widen the shoulders, so disabled vehicles will not block the lanes of traffic.
• Create three landscaped lids over SR 520, two with access to new transit stops.
• Add a bike and pedestrian lane to SR 520.
• Create environmental improvements, including improvements to streams and noise barriers.

Overall, the project is part of a $4.65 billion plan to improve SR 520. The state legislature decided that $2.37 billion of the amount will be paid through state and federal funding and tolls. The rest has yet to be determined.